Mike Fox, 60, is a small-scale landlord who will just miss the cut-off because he owns five properties in total, although he will now be protected from costs on his main residence.

He warned that safety works on blocks of flats that have a large proportion of landlord owners will be beset by delays as buy-to-let investors struggle to find the money to cover the costs. “People will appeal and that will delay things by years,” said Mr Fox.

James Shell*, 61, is a small-scale landlord who with his wife owns a main residence and two London rental flats that have fire safety problems. He will now save tens of thousands of pounds on remediation bills. 

“We’re not higher-rate taxpayers. We were looking at potentially having to sell our main house to cover the costs. Now, these amendments will potentially save us between £20,000 and £50,000 in total. They are the difference between having to sell our home and being able to plan for the retirement I’ve worked for 38 years to achieve. We are hugely relieved,” he said.

The Government’s amendments to the Building Safety Bill also included new details on the cap on non-cladding-related costs.

Mr Gove had previously said that while no qualifying leaseholders would pay for cladding-related costs, they could have to pay for non-cladding work, with bills capped at £10,000, or £15,000 in London.

Now, Mr Gove has said leaseholders with properties worth up to £175,000 (or £325,000 in London) will pay nothing towards non-cladding costs. Those with homes worth £175,000 to £1m will have bills capped at £10,000. In London, those with homes worth £325,000 to £1m will have bills capped at £15,000. 

Above the £1m mark, there will be no distinction between London and non-London property. All leaseholders with property worth between £1m and £2m will pay up to £50,000. Above £2m, the cost cap will be £100,000.

A government spokesman said: “Our priority is to protect innocent leaseholders living in their own home from paying unfair costs to fix problems they did not cause – not those with significant means.

“We have listened to feedback and are increasing support for people who own three properties and ensuring the developer is picking up the costs wherever possible. We expect industry to agree a fully funded plan for remediation by the end of March, which those with larger property portfolios will benefit from.”

All landlords will still benefit from the Building Safety Fund regardless of how many properties they own.

*This person’s name has been changed